Grading the early MLB offseason moves

The hot stove is off to a slow start this offseason. Most of the big-name free agents remain unsigned, but a few notable moves have been made by teams looking to get a jump on the market.

We take a look at some of the offseason's early signings and hand out a grade for each.

Blake Snell ➡️ Dodgers

Grade: A

Snell wasted little time cashing in this year after signing well into spring training last season. The 32-year-old landed a five-year, $182-million contract with $66 million deferred as the Dodgers continue to aggressively augment what is already the most talented roster in the major leagues.

The Dodgers were forced to rely on bullpen games during the postseason after a number of injuries left the rotation thin. The team was still able to win the World Series, but reinforcements were heavily needed heading into next season. Snell has some durability concerns but remains one of the game's most talented pitchers when healthy.

Snell struggled in the first half of 2024, which can likely be blamed on signing so late, posting a 6.31 ERA in eight starts for the Giants before the All-Star break. He quickly rebounded, emerging as one of the game's best pitchers down the stretch, posting a 5-0 record with a sparkling 1.45 ERA and 103 strikeouts across 68 1/3 innings in the second half of the season.

The Dodgers added Snell to perform under the bright lights in October. They're just hoping he can find a way to be healthy when the postseason rolls around. If so, they should be happy with what he brings to the table.

Luis Severino ➡️ Athletics

Grade: C

The Athletics pulled off a stunner Thursday, reportedly inking right-hander Luis Severino to a three-year, $67-million deal. The agreement is the largest in team history and comes with the franchise set to play the next three seasons in a minor-league park in West Sacramento. It wasn't a guarantee the A's would spend, and it appears they had to overpay to convince one of the better free agents to move to a temporary home. The right-hander is coming off a bounce-back season where he posted a 3.91 ERA across 182 innings. Who knows if this moves the needle in a positive direction for the A's, but Severino's presence - along with Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler and some intriguing youngsters - should give fans in the team's temporary home more reason to come to the ballpark. Still, it's nice to see the A's spend.

Yusei Kikuchi ➡️ Angels

Grade: C

The Angels' active offseason included handing Kikuchi a three-year, $63-million deal. The southpaw earned that contract after a terrific 10-game stint with Houston where he posted a 2.70 ERA and 11.4 K/9 following his acquisition from the Toronto Blue Jays. Kikuchi possesses great stuff and strikes out hitters with the best of them - seventh among qualified starters in 2024 - which should help an Angels rotation that had the third-highest ERA in baseball last season. It's still unclear if Perry Minasian's offseason strategy of adding veterans such as Kikuchi to L.A.'s young core will help it improve upon a 99-loss season, so this feels like an overpay for a team that is still trying to climb out of a hole.

Aroldis Chapman ➡️ Red Sox

Grade: B

Chapman parlayed a strong season with the Pittsburgh Pirates into a one-year, $10.75-million contract from the Red Sox. The 36-year-old could slide into the closer's role left vacant by Kenley Jansen. Chapman can still approach 100 mph with his fastball and piled up 14.3 K/9 in 2024. It will be interesting to see if Chapman ends up earning the ninth-inning responsibility over Liam Hendriks, who's set to return after missing the entire 2024 campaign because of Tommy John surgery. On the whole, adding Chapman is a fairly low-risk move for Red Sox executive Craig Breslow that could pay nice dividends in 2025.

Frankie Montas ➡️ Mets

Grade: B-

The Mets entered the offseason needing to replace Severino, Sean Manaea, and Jose Quintana from last season's rotation. The first domino to fall came in the form of a two-year, $34-million contract for Montas. The right-hander had an uneven season with the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers in 2024. However, Montas' stuff graded out well with his splitter generating an encouraging amount of whiffs. Montas has the talent to be a difference-maker, and the Mets are certainly hoping he can have the same success that Manaea and Severino did as reclamation projects in 2024.

Matthew Boyd ➡️ Cubs

Grade: D

It looks like the Cubs are buying into Boyd's upside, handing him a two-year, $29-million deal after he threw just 39 2/3 innings last season and didn't have a job until June. The 33-year-old looked good in limited duty for the Cleveland Guardians - he was also terrific in 11 2/3 postseason innings - but this deal comes with risk. Boyd's only pitched 124 innings since 2022 and underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2023. The Cubs could have used an internal option like Ben Brown to replace departing free agent Kyle Hendricks in the rotation instead of Boyd, while spending the $29 million to improve other areas of need such as a bullpen that finished 25th in win probability added and lacks a legitimate ninth-inning option.

Dodgers extend Tommy Edman

Grade: A-

Edman hadn't played a game last season when the Dodgers picked him up in a three-team trade in July, but he was a perfect fit once he got on the field. The versatile 29-year-old played four different positions in the infield and outfield, and he put his permanent stamp on L.A. with a memorable postseason where he won NLCS MVP then proceeded to post a .988 OPS in the Fall Classic. The Dodgers pride themselves on employing position players who can move all over the field, and finding one of Edman’s caliber for $14.8 million per season over five years felt like a bargain for the champs considering the New York Yankees paid an aging DJ LeMahieu - who possesses a similar skillset to Edman - a higher AAV over six years in 2021.